On Monday evening, the City Council of Brussels officially laid the groundwork for the development of an Action Plan against racism in the territory of the central municipality of the Brussels city.
It adopted, for the first time unanimously on this subject, a motion to this effect.
The motion commits the municipal council to joining the European Coalition of Cities Against Racism (ECCAR); and to set up a working group to develop an Action Plan against racial and cultural discrimination.
This group will be composed of the heads of groups from all parties, the cabinets concerned, representatives of civil society, the voluntary sector, NGOs, the scientific community, municipal administration and police services as well as any local actors concerned.
Among other roles, the group will study the possibility of creating a reporting system to centralise and/or relay citizens' complaints and collect statistics.
Regarding complaints against the administration and the police the motion provides that the City will establish a specific mechanism to remedy them, particularly in terms of prevention and training.
The Plan will also aim to set up an information and awareness campaign for the population and municipal staff.
The Brussels Times
